Dealing With Death
by Anubis Enfield
Summary: I work at a morgue, so it should be normal that I can see ghosts, right? That doesn't mean people should be treating me like an old man. I'm fifteen. Ichigo doesn't seem to like me either. Oh, well.
1. Chapter 1

**Wondered how Ichigo would deal with someone who ticks him off and wanted a match for Tatsuki.**

* * *

I yawned as I walked down the main road, searching for a flower shop nearby. It had been a busy couple of hours, surprisingly, since morticians don't normally get a whole lot to do. Then again, I normally had my step-father doing a majority of the work but it had been 3 years since he passed on, giving the shop to me, so I was doing the work alone now. I adjusted my tie, loosening it a bit in an attempt to get some air under my black suit as I found the shop I was looking for.

"Ah! Satoshi! It's nice to see you again. You here for more lilies?"

I shook my head. "No. Some daffodils, actually, Miss Kurihara."

The woman nodded and went into the back before returning with some bright yellow flowers tied together with a ribbon. I handed her the money and she quickly began calculating the change.

"Who's it for this time?"

"The young girl who was hit by a car a few days ago."

"Ah, right. Poor dear. Give her my blessings."

I nodded and walked out of the small shop. I had known Miss Kurihara for years, ever since I had started helping out with my step-father at the morgue. He had this thing where he'd always bring flowers to the deceased person a few days after everything that happened, just to wind down after work and I guessed that I just got so used to it that I kept doing it even after the guy kicked the bucket. _The man should know better than to leave a 15 year old kid with a family morgue to run. Even if I_ do _look older than I actually am._

I pulled a hand through my neck length silver hair with a sigh as I approached the street where the girl was killed. As I heard voices shouting, my bright blue eyes scanned the street to see a group of punks a bit further up. I'd rather not start a conflict with any of them, but I still needed to give the girl her flowers so I started heading towards the group. Getting closer, I was able to hear a part of their conversation and it seemed that one of the guys was actually trying to punish the others.

"Then why is the vase knocked over?"

"T-That's…"

"That's cuz we knocked it over skateboarding?"

"I see…Then shouldn't you apologize to her?!"

I raised a brow as the orange haired guy gestured to a girl and the punks hurried off with apologies. With a shake of my head, I walked up to the knocked over flower vase behind the guy and the girl's ghost. I fixed the vase and put my flowers in it just as the girl noticed me.

"Satoshi! You brought me flowers!"

I nodded and pat the ghost girl on the head.

"I promised you, didn't I?"

"Mhmm!"

"Oi, you can see her?"

I looked over at the orange haired kid as I stood up.

"I've been able to see them since I was born. It's convenient where I work."

"Oh yeah? And where's that?"

"A morgue."

He looked surprised, dropping his tough guy act for a moment before turning to leave. The little girl next to me waved with a smile towards him.

"Thanks mister!"

He waved in return. "You're welcome. Hurry up and go to heaven."

She gave a childish pout and stuck out her tongue as I, too, turned to leave.

"He's right, you know. You should head up there soon."

"B-But what about my mom? She's so sad."

I knelt down to her level and looked at her calmly.

"I know your mom is sad, but if you don't go to heaven, won't she be even more sad?"

The girl nodded and wiped at the tears coming down her face.

"Listen, how about I send your mom some pretty flowers just like yours. Then you could go to heaven and I promise to send her some every year on your birthday. Will that be okay for you?"

She looked at me surprised for a moment. "R-Really?"

"Of course."

"T-Then I'll go…But, um, how do I get to heaven?"

I reached into my pocket and pulled out a black leather glove, putting it on my right hand. The girl was confused, but she trusted me at this point and I held out my hand in front of her. In my palm, a small glow turned into a small sparrow.

"Here. She'll lead you there."

"O-Okay. Thank you, mister."

I gave her a nod and headed back home, replacing my glove back in my pocket. For some reason though, I was on edge. _That's never a good sign. Hopefully, nothing like last time will happen. I already have too much work._ I sighed again and soon settled in for the night as a black cat jumped onto my window sill before curling up on my stomach. Scratching her behind the ears, she gave a rumbling purr as I spoke.

"Things have been getting hectic around here, Yoruichi. Makes things interesting, don't you think?"

She meowed, agreeing with me and I smirked before falling into a peaceful slumber.

* * *

The next morning, I was glad to discover that I had no work to do so I decided to take a walk in something other than my black suit. My torn jeans were a nice change and it felt nice to not be suffocating now that I was wearing a white t-shirt and my dark green, short-sleeved, over shirt. I pulled a cigarette out of my pocket and lit it up, having been a smoker ever since my step-father died, and blew the smoke up in the air as I saw an interesting sight.

A huge hole in the side of the Kurosaki Clinic had me stopping in place and watching as Mr. Kurosaki himself came around the corner with a bundle of boards. He spotted me watching and waved me over.

"Hey, Satoshi! Haven't seen you in a while!"

I walked over and helped him with some of the boards.

"You too. What happened to your wall?"

He chuckled and scratched his chin. "Would you believe it? A truck hit our house last night! None of us woke up or anything! I'm just glad no one got hurt."

I nodded and picked up a hammer to help him nail the boards to the wall temporarily.

"Yeah. Wouldn't want to wake up and find out I had more work to do."

He laughed and hit me on the back. "Ahaha! Always the joker! You know you might actually be able to get a lady if you weren't so stoic all the time.~"

I let out a drag of my cigarette as I squatted on the ground depressed.

"I'm only _fifteen_. Why does everyone have to make me feel like an old man?"

He laughed louder as a young girl with light brown hair and a ladle, and another girl with black hair walked out.

"Dad! Breakfast is ready! Huh?" She looked over at me. "Dad, who's this?"

"This is Satoshi Yuuma. He runs the morgue down the road."

The black haired girl gave me a look while the other introduced herself.

"Oh! Well, I'm Yuzu and this is Karin." She said, pointing to her sister. "I hope my father didn't drag you into this."

I shook my head. "No. I don't mind helping a friend of my father's."

She blinked and tilted her head to the side. "How old are you, Satoshi?"

"Fifteen."

Her eyes widened. "What?! No way! You're the same age as our brother?!"

"Somebody called me?"

The same orange haired guy from yesterday walked out with a yawn, that is, until he spotted me.

"Ah! You're the guy from yesterday!"

"Oh? You two already met?"

I nodded at Mr. Kurosaki. "Yesterday, when I was delivering flowers to the site of girl that died a few days ago."

He hit his fist on his palm. "Right! I remember her…Anyway, Ichigo!" He slung his arms across Ichigo's shoulders with a smile. "Isn't it a miracle?! For a truck to crash into the house and for nobody to get injured!"

"Though it's even more miraculous that nobody woke up! Oh, brother! Breakfast is ready too. Are you going to join us, Satoshi?"

I glanced over at Yuzu and shook my head. "I shouldn't-"

"Nonsense! You have to join us, Satoshi!" Mr. Kurosaki grabbed my shoulders and began leading me into the house. "We need to catch up, after all."

I sighed as I put out my cigarette and sat down at the dinner table to have breakfast with them. Ichigo seemed a bit lost in his own thoughts for the moment, but once the questions started, he quickly joined in.

"So how's business been?"

"Dead, as usual." I muttered as I ate some rice.

"Don't you go to school, Satoshi?" Yuzu asked.

"Why the hell would this old geezer go to school? What, did he get held back a few years?" Ichigo scoffed.

"Brother! You shouldn't be so rude! Satoshi is the same age as you, you know!"

Ichigo looked shocked. "Wha-No way!"

I nodded with a slight frown. "I've always looked older than I am and I haven't been to school since elementary."

"What? Why not?"

"Didn't need to."

"Oh…Well, we better get going, dad. We're going to be late. Nice to meet you, Satoshi!"

I nodded at Yuzu as her, Karin, and Ichigo left for school while I finished eating with Isshin.

"You should head back to school, Satoshi. You might learn something and maybe you'll be in Ichigo's class!"

"Can't. I have to work."

He frowned. "You and I both know that you can balance both of those. You could work after school. Besides, your father told me how smart you are. Keeping up your grades would be no problem."

I sighed. "Why are you so adamant about this?"

"Because you're like a son to me."

I quickly looked up at him to find him smiling like an idiot.

"We barely know each other." I said blankly.

"And what does that change? Every kid needs a father."

He smiled and ruffled my hair from across the table as I frowned.

"Okay, okay. Fine. I'll go back to school. Crazy old man."

I muttered the last bit, but he heard me and started laughing. "You sound like my son already!"

I rolled my eyes and thanked him for the meal before heading out. The day lasted too long for my liking, but I was informed by the school that I would be joining classes starting next week. I wasn't excited about it, in fact, I was more depressed than anything. _I won't be allowed to smoke. Man, this is going to suck._

I continued to think about all the bad things about school the next day, as I dressed up an elderly man for his funeral in a few hours. I had already visited his family that morning and paid my condolences, as well as purchasing the flowers and making sure he had already passed on and wasn't just hanging around. By the time I had finished working on him and another guest, I attended their funerals and ended up heading to a Chinese take-out place for dinner since it was already pretty late. Crossing an intersection, I noticed a girl about my age singing in front of me.

"Ra is Ra from Ramen. Shi is Shinigawa Sushi's Shi."

I smirked slightly at her odd choice of words, popping my cigarette back into my mouth, when I suddenly heard the squealing of tires. A car was speeding in her direction and my body suddenly acted on it's own.

I dropped my bags of food and ran towards her, shoving her out of the way. I was still in the path of the raging vehicle, but I was at least semi-prepared. I jumped up, placing one hand on the roof of the car, twisting my body before pushing off. It was a difficult and dangerous move and I could see why when I landed.

My ankles gave out under the weight and my left wrist took the brunt of the impact, breaking almost instantly. I grit my teeth, biting down on the cigarette that I had somehow kept in my mouth, but I was alive and so was that girl. Said girl, was staring at me with wide eyes.

"I-I'm so sorry! Thank you so much for saving me! Are you okay?! We need to get you to the hospital right away!"

I blinked at her in confusion as she continued to freak out when I remembered the driver of the car. I saw the smoking car nearby, having stopped when it hit a pole, and I hurried after it as the girl finally took notice.

"Ah! I completely forgot!"

I ignored her and used my elbow to break the man's window since he was knocked unconscious and the door was locked. I quickly unlocked the door and dragged the man out of the car carefully. My wrist was killing me and my elbow hurt now, but I had a high pain tolerance so I easily disregarded it and called up Isshin's clinic.

"Kurosaki clinic. Can I help you?"

 _Yuzu._ "Yeah, Yuzu, right? It's Satoshi. Uh, I'm going to bring in a guy. Okay?"

"What?! Did you get in an accident?"

"Uh." I rubbed the back of my neck. "I guess. I'll be there soon."

She started freaking out, but I disconnected and heaved the guy up to start walking. The girl was fine enough if she could continue freaking out, so I was surprised when some of the weight was lifted off my shoulders. Glancing around the man's slumped form, I gave the girl a look that she just smiled at.

"I just thought I should help! It's my fault after all. Oh! I'm Orihime Inoue. Who're you?"

 _Odd girl. Helping a stranger before even knowing who she's dealing with._ "Satoshi Yuuma…Your brother died a few years back, right?"

She stared at me with wide eyes that quickly turned sorrowful. "Yeah…But, um, how did you know? Have we met?"

I shook my head 'no' and looked forward again as we approached the clinic.

"No. I recognized your last name. I work the morgue not far from here. My father took care of him, I think."

"Really? How old are you, Satoshi?"

"Fifteen."

"Wah?!"

She nearly had me dropping the man when she suddenly yelled and I winced at the volume.

"Really?! How come you're not in school? I've never seen you around."

I sighed, puffing out smoke. "I dropped out a while back. Never saw a need to keep going. I'm starting again next week though."

"Wow! So maybe I'll see you in class."

She smiled again and I returned a smaller grin. "Yeah."

I sent her off once we reached the clinic and I dragged the man in just as Yuzu looked up from her apparent pacing. She immediately went off in a rant about me hanging up on her when she didn't know what happened, and about me smoking in the clinic, when she snatched my cigarette and put it out before helping me bring the man to a bed.

Isshin walked in then and began looking him over while Yuzu brought me into another room to clean out some scrapes I'd gotten during my little stunt. It was then she noticed my wrist and she hit me on the arm.

"Why didn't you tell me you broke your wrist?! Dad!"

She hurried out of the room and brought Isshin back looking a bit ruffled as she pouted at me.

"Satoshi's wrist is broken, I think."

"Ah, yes, well-"

A growl interrupted the conversation and the two of them looked towards me as I turned away with a red tinge to my cheeks, scratching my nose in embarrassment.

"I-I was getting dinner."

Isshin chuckled and smiled. "Why don't you go find Satoshi something to eat, Yuzu, while I see what I can do about his wrist."

She nodded with a smile and hurried off as I was brought to an x-ray. Turns out, I was luckier than I thought. My wrist was only fractured and not broken so it was easier to fix and less recovery time. After my injury was wrapped up, I was given some food to eat which was difficult because I was left-handed, before preparing to head on my way.

"Thank you again for the food, Mr. Kurosaki."

"No problem." He waved it off. "But it's a bit late. Perhaps you should-"

"No." He looked at me, concerned. "I'll be fine. I have some…business to take care of."

He let me go and I quickly returned to my house. Something was wrong. _Seriously_ wrong. When I returned home, I quickly began searching through my father's logs when I came upon the problem.

"Three years ago. Sora Inoue died after a car accident. Spoken to, but not confirmed. No wonder."

I dropped the log and leaned my head back against the wall in my bedroom. At the accident site, I saw a monster there reaching out for Orihime. I had dealt with those monsters before and I knew they were trouble, but I also knew they were once ghosts. Ghosts that weren't able to pass on. And this one…This one I recognized. Not the monster itself, but the aura.

I pulled out my glove and stared at it for a moment. Ever since I'd hung around the clinic, something's just been off. Ichigo's aura had become overbearing almost overnight and I was somewhat concerned since it seemed to have something to do with the giant hole in the wall of their family clinic. Glancing at the log again, I got up and went to replace it on the bookshelf in my room along with the others.

My step-dad was very meticulous about these things and had kept a long standing record of the people we dressed and how they died. The big thing was, we also kept a record on whether we helped them pass on as well. He was another one of those who could see spirits, only he couldn't _actually_ see them. He could only hear them, so it was harder for him to confirm whether they had passed on or whether they just stayed silent or disappeared. Although, I suppose that's one of the reasons why he adopted me seeing as we had similar 'gifts'.

" _And it's your choice on whether you treat it as a gift or a curse. I'm not going to force you to like what you've been given, but it's best to enjoy it while it's there. For all you know, it might just disappear one day."_

I gave a small smile as I remembered him telling me that with a big grin on his face as he ruffled my hair and I stared back at him like he was insane. He was nice though, definitely better than the foster families who tried to take me in, and most certainly better than my actual parents.

"Meow."

I didn't even notice when I had returned to my bed or when the cat on my window sill had turned up, but I welcomed her in all the same.

"Sounds like tomorrow's going to be a busy day, Yoruichi. Tying up loose ends is never fun."

* * *

The next afternoon, I had no work and closed up shop before heading out to grab something for dinner a bit earlier this time in case something else happened. I was still in my suit and tie from work, but I could care less as I strolled up to a convenience store, nearly running into a familiar girl.

"Sorry."

"Ah! Satoki, right?"

My face turned down a bit at her mistake. "Satoshi, actually."

"Oh! Sorry. So what are you doing here?"

I held up my grocery bag with my uninjured hand. "Getting dinner early should I run into you again."

She laughed brightly as my mind finally came up with her name. _Orihime Inoue, right. Got to remember that one._

"Me too! So funny, huh?" She paused for a moment as we left the store together, looking me over. "Why are you wearing a suit, Satoshi?"

"I just got off work and didn't bother to change." I said as we headed towards the park. I suppose it was unintentional, but I seemed to be walking her home and, either she didn't notice, or she didn't care. I pulled out a cigarette and stuck it in my mouth, but didn't light it. I wasn't sure if she would appreciate it if I did, so I didn't take that chance.

"Inoue."

"Hm?" She smiled brightly at me and I turned my head away for a moment to compose the heat rising to my cheeks . Not from her, mind you, but from the embarrassment of what I was about to ask.

"What…Uh, what was that song I heard you singing earlier?"

"Oh that? It was a song I made up! I just take different kanji from different names of places. It's really fun. You want to try?"

I shrugged and soon enough, she was off skipping a bit ahead of me as she sang.

"Do is Drunk Dragon's Do~ Re is…" She trailed off, allowing me a chance to continue it.

It took a little bit, but I found a place that should work and sang a little. "Re is Ereki Comics' Re."

She smiled and turned her back around as she continued. "Mii is always Ereki Comics' Mii~ Fa is-"

I cut her off this time. "Alf-alpha's Games' Fa."

"Ah! It's Kurosaki!"

I stopped and followed her gaze as she looked down into the park and saw Ichigo talking with another dark-haired girl on one of the benches. Orihime waved for me to follow her with a mischievous glint in her eyes, so I did and we walked up behind Ichigo silently; just barely hearing the end of his conversation with this other girl.

"If you keep talking naively like that, you'll end up dead!"

That definitely wasn't something I expected to hear from her and I scrunched up my brows as I felt her aura. _Odd. Her's is higher than normal, but the feeling it gives off is different. It reminds me of Yoruichi's and Ichigo's._

"Hello, Kurosaki!"

I winced a bit at Orihime's yelling, but decided to ignore it for now.

"I-Inoue? W-W-What are you doing here?!"

"Eheheh. Just doing a little dinner shopping. I bought onions, butter, bananas, and gelatin!"

I silently wondered what her stomach was made of to even be able to eat that. _God. I hope she's not mixing those together. I'd rather not have her end up in my morgue because she ate something weird._ I sweat dropped at the thought when I was suddenly pulled out of my musings and she tugged me over.

"And look who I met! This is Satoshi!"

Ichigo glared at me as I gave him a half-hearted wave. "Yo."

"Again?! How many times am I going to run into you?!"

I shrugged, gently tugging Orihime's arm off me and going over to sit on the bench as the two of them got along. Of course, that meant being near the other girl who was giving me an odd look.

"Kuchiki?" Orihime questioned the girl and I assumed that was her name.

"Hm. Who the hell are you?" She asked when Ichigo suddenly leaned back and whispered to her.

"Idiot! That's Inoue! She's in our class!"

Kuchiki's demeanor suddenly changed and I raised a brow as she curtsied to Orihime. Ichigo glanced over at her then, and noticed the bandage on her arm.

"What's wrong with your arm? You fall down?"

Orihime, being the clueless person she is, just smiled and answered bluntly, "Oh this? No! I was hit!"

"H-Hit?! By a car?!"

"Well, not really." She said, pointing to her chin in thought. "Satoshi pushed me out of the way before I could get hurt!" She dragged me over and held up my injured wrist. "See? He was more hurt than me, so I helped him carry the driver to the hospital."

She was laughing, while I just sighed and flicked her in the forehead.

"You shouldn't be laughing, Inoue. I'd rather not have to find the measurements of your casket." I said blankly while Ichigo and Kuchiki paled, but she just laughed some more.

"Ahah. I guess you're right. But it's not like they did it on purpose."

"You get hurt often, Inoue?" Kuchiki asked.

Ichigo answered for her though. "More than often! It's almost everyday!"

Orihime chuckled and rubbed the back of her head nervously. "I zone out a lot, so…"

"Then you shouldn't act like it's unavoidable like that!" Ichigo growled back.

I watched the two of them bicker for a moment, before giving up on being courteous and lighting my cigarette. Orihime was a bit too much for me to handle. Giving the Kuchiki girl a glance out of the corned of my eye, I followed her gaze to Orihime's left leg where a large bruise seemed to have formed. I frowned at the aura it was giving off and let out a huff of smoke as Kuchiki questioned it.

Orihime only ended up arguing more with Ichigo and I rolled my eyes at the two before looking at my watch. _It's getting late. I need to hurry up and check about her brother if I can._ I got up from the bench and tapped her on the shoulder, interrupting her conversation with Ichigo.

"Inoue, it's getting late."

She, in turn, checked her own watch and stared at it in shock. "Oh! It's this late!"

"In a rush?" Ichigo asked as she scrambled up the stairs, completely leaving me behind.

"Yeah! Laugh Hour is almost on!"

Ichigo called up to her while I just sat back down, since it seemed to me that I was being ditched.

"You want me to walk you home?!"

"Wh-What?! N-No, I'm fine!"

"Ok! See you tomorrow!"

"Huh? Um, yeah! Tomorrow! And thanks for walking with me this far, Satoshi!"

I gave her a wave as she disappeared over the top of the hill. Ichigo came back over and I stood up once again as he sighed.

"Haa…looking at her wears me out, because you start worrying."

I placed my hand on his shoulder, briefly. "Better worry now than regret it later." I muttered before heading off with a wave over my shoulder. "Nice to meet you, Kuchiki. See you tomorrow, Kurosaki."

When I reached home, I began making the necessary preparations for tonight. I had a bad feeling that Orihime wouldn't be with us much longer if I didn't take care of this soon.

* * *

A dark silhouette landed on top of the apartment complex that belonged to Orihime Inoue, in a silent leap. Their face was covered with a dark piece of fabric that they had revealing only their bright blue eyes. A long blade sheathed on their back and was only noticeable by the chiming of a bell attached to the end of a long ribbon come off the end of the katana.

The area was too silent for the figure's liking and immediately they climbed into the window of Orihime's apartment the moment they heard yelling. _This isn't good. She invited somebody over? That's only going to make things more difficult for me._ The figure landed in the room just as a dark haired girl was shoved to the floor, her shoulder bleeding. _Shit. I'm already late._ The figure quickly unsheathed their weapon and smacked the back of the blade against their wrist, giving off a loud ringing sound from the multitude of rings that were swinging from holes in the sword. The beast in the room howled in agony and the person quickly went to the aid of the injured girl.

The girl couldn't see this cloaked person, but there was another in the room who could. Orihime's spirit was huddled against the wall, confused as she wondered why her body was a few feet away from her and yet she wasn't in it. It was then, that she looked up and caught sight of the dark figure over by Tatsuki. Not knowing who the figure was nor what they were doing, Orihime acted on instinct and tackled the figure.

They tumbled on the ground for a moment, before the person she tackled groaned slightly. They made sure not to speak, should Orihime recognize their voice, but the bigger problem at the moment was the large hand aiming for them both. Silently cursing, the person shoved Orihime towards Tatsuki in an attempt to protect her from the monster.

Chimes echoed throughout the room, but they reacted a bit late and the demon managed to cut the figure's shoulder. While the beast writhed in agony from the noise, the cloaked person brought a gloved hand to their shoulder and allowed it to glow green for a moment when a familiar aura drew even closer. _Great._ The person quickly rose to their feet and sheathed their sword before jumping out the window and to a roof nearby.

They knew they couldn't just leave, but more importantly, they wondered why the person belonging to the aura they felt before was even here. Watching carefully while being sure not to get spotted _by_ said individual, their expression quickly changed to mild surprise when an orange haired shinigami jumped through Orihime's window. _He's a…shinigami?!_

Not quite sure what to do next, the figure sat back on the roof as another familiar aura came up behind them; the clicking on the roof tiles also giving them away. The dark figure leaned back on their hands and tilted their head back to look blankly at the hat wearing man behind them.

"They'll be fine you know.~"

"And why should I trust you?" The figure asked the man.

"Oh? How about if I stay here and watch them for you? Would that be a better deal?"

The cloaked figure rolled their eyes and stood up from the roof. "I don't make deals, but I have school tomorrow, so…do what you want, Urahara."

The man gave a chuckle and waved off the figure as they jumped off the roof. "Bye, Satoshi~"


	2. Chapter 2

An alarm went off somewhere nearby and I groaned into my pillow and turned my head the other direction. I never woke up this early and for a good reason too. I need my sleep. Even when I had work, I'd still sleep in until at least 9:30 before I opened shop simply because I'd stay up all night working. Half the time, that work was dealing with the spirits and the other half was spent building caskets.

The stupid alarm was still going off, but what really got me up, was Yoruichi jumping on my bare back. Jumping up in a panic, I allowed my sheets to pool around my ankles before sighing at the cat and turning off the alarm. _She sure knows how to get me up in the morning. Pest._ Grumbling to myself, I headed downstairs in only my boxers to start a cup of coffee.

As that was being done, I showered quickly and put on my new school uniform before grabbing a cup and chugging down the coffee despite the temperature. My throat burned for a moment, but I ignored it and picked up my bag, giving Yoruichi a glance as I headed out.

"Close the window on your way out." I muttered to her before making my way towards my new school.

Once I got there, I was headed to class and was introduced by the teacher; a spunky, easy-going woman.

"Hey, listen up! We got a new student. This is Satoshi Yuuma." She then turned to me as I yawned, a tear in the corner of my eye. "Go ahead and sit over by Kurosaki."

I headed in his direction and sat to his left before any more could be said. In fact, he still hadn't closed his mouth after realizing that I was here. Still tired, I yawned again and propped my head on my arms before dozing off.

"-toshi. Satoshi!"

Something hard smacked me upside the head and I rubbed the spot with a yawn. The teacher was standing there with a book in her hand and a frown on her face.

"You may be new here, but you could still pay attention, you know. Now what's the answer to number 45?"

I quickly glanced at the book and sighed. "31,564."

She blinked in surprise before glancing down at the book in her hands.

"Y-You're right."

I nodded and placed my head back on my arms. "And number 46 is 5,690."

Her eyes widened as she flipped the page and she paled, before smiling and laughing.

"Good! At least you know your stuff. Just no snoring, okay?"

I gave her a thumbs up and went back to sleep, ignoring the murmurs around me. That is, until lunch came around.

"Oi."

I blinked and opened an eye to see Ichigo hovering over me with a scowl.

"Hm."

"Don't 'hm' me. What the hell are you doing here?! I swear you just keep popping up like a fucking daisy!"

I yawned and stretched, before slumping back in my seat and leaning back a bit.

"It's better than pushing up daisies." I muttered.

"The hell it is. Just leave me alone, would ya?" He muttered back before heading off.

The moment he did, a boy wandered up and gave me a smile, holding out his hand.

"Hey. Sorry about him. I'm Mizuiro Kojima. You wanna join me for lunch?"

I stood up with my hands in my pockets and didn't bother shaking his hand. "Sure."

He didn't seem to mind and just smiled some more before stopping by a vending machine to get water. I grabbed a coffee-milk and a yakisoba bread while we were there and followed him up to the roof. Oddly enough, Ichigo and Kuchiki were there as well.

"You guys are together again." Mizuiro said. "You two sure get along well."

"Mizuiro." Ichigo said, then he glared at me as I took a bite of the bread. "Satoshi." he grumbled.

I gave him a blank glance in return and sat down next to Kuchiki while Mizuiro sat next to him. Like I said before, I'm not one for confrontations so I'd best avoid upsetting Ichigo. _I should also figure out Kuchiki's full name._ Ichigo glared again, but quickly turned back to Mizuiro.

"Dumbass. Does it look like we get along well?"

"You don't? Well, if you say so. But Ichigo, shouldn't you think about the impression you're giving to those around you?"

"Stupid. If I worried about what others thought, I'd have dyed my hair black long ago."

Mizuiro chuckled. "That's true. What about you, Satoshi?"

I blinked and paused with my bread inches from my open mouth, before setting it down. I hadn't expected him to drag me into the conversation.

"Hm?"

"Well, you're not exactly the average person, don't you worry about the impression you're giving off?"

"No. People can think what they want. Either way, we all end up dead sooner or later."

"Ah. You have a morbid sense of humor, I see."

I nodded. "Comes with the business."

"And what business is that?"

"He works at a morgue. I swear, his mind is a bit warped."

Mizuiro gave Ichigo a look, that he just ignored, but I nodded in confirmation. I did think my mind was a little off sometimes. I'm not exactly a normal person anyhow.

"Hello, Kuchiki!"

The dark haired girl turned towards Mizuiro and my lips tugged downwards a bit. I was enjoying watching her try and figure out how the straw works.

"Hello, um, Kojima?"

"Bingo! You remembered even though we haven't been properly introduced. I'm Mizuiro Kojima, age 15! My hobby is-"

"Womanizing." Ichigo interrupted.

"Huh?! N-No it isn't. You're horrible." Mizuiro defended.

"With this face, yet he's all over them. Watch out."

I gave him a blank look as I played along. "I didn't know you were that kind of person, Mizuiro."

"Ah! Not you too, Satoshi! Stop it. You're ruining my reputation. I'm only interested in older girls! All girls my age are safe!"

"Not very reassuring." I muttered to myself, just barely picking up on what Ichigo said.

"That's why I told her to watch out."

The others didn't seem to hear, but they also didn't notice the other aura that was approaching.

"Hey. Can I join you guy-I-Is that S-S-Satoshi?!"

I gazed up at the brown haired guy and tilted my head to the side in confusion. _Do I know him? I don't believe so. But then…how does he know me?_

"Hey, Keigo." Ichigo responded. "And don't worry about Satoshi. The guy's a lazy smartass."

There was a quiet 'clonk' as my empty yakisoba wrapper hit Ichigo in the head and he glared at me.

"Oops. My hand slipped."

"I'll show you whose hand slipped-" He went to get up, but Mizuiro held him back for me.

"Now, Ichigo."

Keigo reluctantly came closer, but he kept giving me glances out of the corner of his eyes occasionally; I ignored him, choosing instead to take Kuchiki's drink and straw away from her and punching the straw in myself. Handing it back, she gave me a smile and I sighed with a grumble.

"You shouldn't smile like that. It's too fake."

She stiffened while my fingers twitched, aching for a cigarette that I knew I couldn't have on school grounds, when a loud shout interrupted our little luncheon.

"Ow! What are you do-"

Keigo suddenly stopped shouting the moment he caught sight of a large orange haired punk. _And I'm not talking about Ichigo. This guy's obviously a jerk though. Best ignore him._

"Yo, Kurosaki."

"Friend of yours?" I questioned Ichigo.

"Che. Yeah right. More like a chattering monkey that won't leave me alone." He muttered, barely loud enough for me to hear.

"Hey! Kurosaki! When are you gonna dye your hair? With that bleached hair and drooping eyes, you're coping me."

"Shut up. How many times do I have to tell you, this is my natural hair color. And I ain't copying you. Do something about your own hair, you chicken-head. Lay any eggs lately?"

"Chick-You bastard!"

"Hey, hey, hey! Let's not fight! Okay!" Keigo tried to diffuse the situation, but chicken-head turned towards me as my drink just about reached it's end. The noise of me trying to get the last drops catching his attention.

"And who the hell is this? You trying to copy me too?"

I gazed at him boredly, scanning him up and down for a moment. "Hm, 187 by 140 by 77 centimeters."

"Huh?" He said in confusion.

"It's the measurements for your casket." I said blankly before he swung a punch at me.

"I'm gonna kick yur arse!"

"Satoshi!" Keigo shouted, but I just stared at the oncoming fist, ready to move if I needed to, but I didn't. Since it seemed someone was looking out for me and his hand was grabbed before he was flipped through the air. I looked up at the big guy and found a dark, tanned guy covered in bandages and holding a yakisoba bread.

"Thanks." I said. "Satoshi Yuuma."

"Sado Yasutora. Call me Chad."

I nodded and we stared at each other for a moment, having a silent conversation. _**You didn't seem concerned.**_ _Heard you coming._ _ **You strong?**_ _Maybe._ _**Hm.**_

"Uh, Chad?"

Chad ended our mental conversation and turned towards Keigo who gave him a smile.

"Be more careful. You could've killed Ooshima. You did save us though."

He just hummed when Ichigo caught sight of his injuries.

"You're injured? What happened?"

Chad pointed to his head. "My head, from yesterday. Steel beam fell from above."

"St-Steel beam?!" Everyone but me shouted. _He's definitely strong._ I suddenly itched for a fight, but shoved the emotion back. _"Best not to fight if you don't have to."_ I let out a deep breath to calm myself before tuning back in to the conversation Ichigo and the others were having, just as Chad set down a cage with a parakeet inside.

"Oh? What's with the bird?" Keigo asked.

"Hello! My name is Yuuichi Shibata! What are your names?"

My stomach twisted into knots at the voice of the young boy, and I felt sick as his aura swept over me. _He's just a kid…_

"Chad, where'd you get the parakeet?" Ichigo asked and Chad easily avoided the question.

"Yesterday…I got it."

"Hey! You quit the explanation because it was too much work, didn't you?! That's a bad habit! Tell us!" Keigo shouted and I rolled my eyes.

It was obvious Chad had picked it up from someone, but he just didn't want to bring more trouble to people. He was hiding things to keep people safe. _Just like me._

* * *

Ichigo stared at Chad for a moment longer when Rukia spoke.

"Don't worry. Something is inside of it, but it's nothing evil. It's nothing more than a lonely spirit. Though it could become a hollow if left alone. It would be wise to send it to the afterlife tonight."

"Roger. There goes more of my sleeping time."

"No complaining!"

"Yeah, yeah."

Ichigo was still worried for the kid, but he felt a bit better knowing that the kid wasn't going to turn all hollow any minute. Rukia, on the other hand, was still slightly worried about something unrelated. _He's now worrying over others after feeling the presence of their spirit. Perhaps he's gained some of what it takes to be a shinigami. What I'm worried about is that other kid…Satoshi Yuuma. He's different from the others. I don't know what it is, but something's off about him. And then that figure I saw the other night. Ichigo didn't see him, but whoever it was, was watching us for a while before he disappeared, and he had no spiritual pressure at all._

Eventually, after school was over, Ichigo headed home while Rukia disappeared. _Probably to go hide in my closet or something. How the hell does she live in there anyhow?_ Ichigo scowled, but loosened up as he reached his house. The moment he walked in the door though, chaos seemed to ensue.

"Brother, move out of the way!" Yuzu shouted as she rushed past him with a box of medical supplies.

"What's the rush? Yuzu-"

Before she could even respond, Karin hurried a man on a bed down the hall.

"Move it! Move it!"

"What's going on here?!" Ichigo asked as Yuzu stood by the door.

"An accident! There was a car accident at the intersection!"

"Car accident…" _There's been a lot of those lately. First Orihime and Satoshi, who's next?_

"What?!" Ichigo's father shouted from another room. "I said I need 4 beds! You can't accept that many?! Do something! We don't have the equipment to help all of these people!" He paused as someone on the other line of the phone spoke. "Listen! Tell your manager that this is a 'request from Kurosaki'! Then tons of beds will open up! You got that?! Damn it! These lower level fools!" He yelled as he slammed the phone down on the receiver.

"D-Dad…Anything I can help with?" Ichigo questioned from behind the safety of the door. _Dad can be a bit scary when he gets like this…_

"No! Stay in the corner so you are out of the way!"

Ichigo did as he was told and soon sat helplessly in a corner in a slight depression. _I don't see why I can't help. I mean, I help spirits all the time. Surely I could do_ something _…_

"Kyaa! Satoshi?!"

Ichigo perked up at the sound of his younger sister's shout, while his Dad rushed into the room.

"Whoa! A big one has arrived! And how do you keep finding yourself in these situations, Satoshi?! Ichigo! A job for you! Help carry him!"

Ichigo stood up and hurried into the room, only to pause as he saw who his father was carrying and who was helping him.

"Chad?! Satoshi?!"

Sweat rolled down both of their faces, but Satoshi seemed slightly better off. _Then again, maybe it's just because he's so straight faced…_ Ichigo shook his head of the thought and grabbed Chad's other arm from Satoshi, helping his father bring him over to one of the examining tables. Chad removed his shirt and everyone's eyes went wide at the sight of the wound on Chad's back. It almost looked like a bloody demonical hand print and Yuzu sucked in a breath.

"Yikes. What horrible wounds."

Ichigo suddenly tensed while his dad looked over the wound. _This feeling…_

"This is terrible. Looks like a burn. Plus, it's bleeding all over. You'll have to remain-"

"No. I-I'm fine now." Chad argued as he replaced his shirt and got up, only for Satoshi to stand in front of him and stare him down. Neither said a word and the other people in the room glanced back and forth between the two for a moment until Satoshi sighed and knocked Chad out, grabbing him with a wince and lying him face down on the table.

"Hey! What'd you go and knock him out for?!" Ichigo yelled. He did not appreciate his friend being knocked unconscious by someone he barely knew.

"He was going to try and leave no matter what you did. I just stopped him before he could die of blood loss. It's a pain to clean them up afterwards."

"Ahah! Always the jokes with you." Isshin sighed with a small, worn-out grin. "Yuzu, Karin! Get two beds ready!"

"No need, Isshin. I'm fine."

He turned around and stared seriously at Satoshi while Ichigo helped carry Chad to his bed.

"I don't believe that for an instant. You may be strong, I'll admit that, but I saw you struggling with Chad earlier. You can't hide these things from me, now take off your shirt so I can see the damage."

Satoshi's lips curled down into a slight frown, but he removed his shirt to reveal three long gashes and a multitude of older scars; from cigarette burns to belt marks to knife wounds scattered along his back. Isshin winced, but began cleaning and stitching up the fresh wounds just as Ichigo walked back in the room to ask if there was anything else for him to do.

"Dad, is there-"

His eyes widened as Satoshi stared at him with a straight face and Isshin turned around with a sigh. Grabbing what he was using, he patted Ichigo on the shoulder as he walked past.

"I'll be back. I need to get the bandages. Stay here."

"H-Huh? O-O-Oh. Okay."

Isshin left and Ichigo shoved his hands in his pocket and shuffled in place uncomfortably. He was curious about the scars and what Satoshi was doing with Chad, but he seriously didn't want to get too personal. He doesn't like it when people ask him about his mother, so he was sure Satoshi probably wouldn't want to talk about it either.

"You going to ask or just stand there?"

Ichigo frowned. "I wasn't going to ask. It's your business. Not mine."

"Hn. Interesting."

Ichigo stared at Satoshi, stunned. _Did he just…laugh? A-And he's smiling! Only a little bit, but that's the first time I've seen any emotion on his face besides boredom._ Satoshi noticed him staring and the small grin dropped. _Shit. He saw me staring._

"Uh, interesting?" Ichigo questioned, to get Satoshi's attention off him for a minute.

"Yes. Most would just ask."

"I'm back!" Isshin said loudly before he went over and started bandaging Satoshi's back.

The room seemed to be a bit tense, but no one took notice of it and after Satoshi replaced his shirt, his stomach growled and he sighed.

"I always get dragged into things at dinner time." He mumbled before Isshin offered to get him some food. _Well…_ Ichigo thought as he headed towards his room. _Looks like I'll have to ask what happened later._

* * *

I couldn't sleep that night, the aura of the parakeet and the pain in my back keeping me from getting any rest at all. I could've technically healed it myself, but that would be suspicious so I didn't. Although, I wasn't able to think about it long before I spotted Chad sneaking out of the clinic with the parakeet. He, surprisingly didn't notice me, despite the fact that I had been leaning my head out of my window to smoke. Knowing that he was being attacked by some hollow, I left behind him but headed to my place to grab my gear first so I wouldn't be recognized. _Isshin isn't going to be happy with me…_

It took me a bit to search through the mass of auras in the area in order to find Chad's, and once I began heading over there, another aura suddenly spiked and I stopped, turning my head in it's direction. _That's…Ichigo's…_ I took a deep breath to keep from rushing his way and focused back on Chad's aura, hurrying towards the warehouse district. _If Ichigo's a shinigami, then he can handle himself. Chad's the one I'm worried about at the moment._ _His spirit energy may be a bit higher than normal, but it's not enough to utilize it._ I didn't even have a chance to get all the way into the warehouse district before Chad rushed out with the bird cage in his hands and a monster watching from a small distance away.

 _Should I go for it?_ I stopped, feeling Ichigo's aura coming closer. _I can't. Not with him getting closer. Wait…is that-_ I turned away from the monster with wide eyes, feeling not only Kuchiki's aura, but one of Ichigo's sisters' auras as well. _That's not good. She can't get caught up in this. I need to keep and eye on that monster and-_ I turned back and cursed under my breath, having lost sight of the monster. _Calm down. I may not know where it is, but I know who it's after._ Taking a deep breath, I hurried back towards Chad, keeping track of Ichigo and Karin's auras. As I ran and got closer, I felt Ichigo and Karin head off in one direction, but Kuchiki was heading towards Chad still and thus, towards the monster. _Not good._ Just as I reached where Kuchiki was, the monster revealed itself and managed to knock her back. Thankfully, she looked alright.

"Heh," The monster chuckled. "You didn't die from one hit, huh? You're really something. Plus, it seems that you can see me. What in the world are you?"

Kuchiki suddenly jumped up and kneed it in the face before launching herself over it's head and began shouting some sort of mantra. What I didn't expect was the fireball that exploded on the back of the monster's head. _That's what she is? Another shinigami?! Where are they all coming from?!_ I mentally shouted, before spotting something out of the corner of my vision. There, running along a wall, was a little monster and, judging by the direction it was heading, Chad was going to have a problem. _Let's hope Kuchiki can handle him for a bit longer._ I thought, before rushing over to where I felt Chad's aura stop.

Oddly enough, his aura started heading back towards the monster, but the parakeet's was still in the same place and the little monsters were still heading towards it. _Why is this monster so desperate to get this parakeet? It can't just be because of the boy's soul unless…the kid has something it wants?_ I debated quietly with myself, before groaning and heading towards the parakeet, using my sword to slice up the little monsters and picking up the cage.

"U-Um, please don't hurt me, mister."

I shook my head. "I'm here to…help, but you must stay quiet."

He nodded, and I tucked the cage under my arm and hurried over to where the others were. When I got there, I was just in time to see Kuchiki get hit by some leech looking objects that I had seen earlier when I cut the little monsters. _I really need a better name to call them…_ Chad caught her before she hit the ground, but the leeches had me worried. After all, I had dealt with these monsters before, but I haven't had one that used smaller monsters like this.

"Heh, heh, heh! That's right!" The monster chuckled. "Those are leeches! Once they're sucking onto you, they're hard to get off! Besides, they're not just ordinary leeches! Those are my targets!"

The monster pulled out a fork-shaped tongue and it emitted a high pitched whistle, and my fears were confirmed as the leeches on Kuchiki exploded.

"Hehe! Surprised, shinigami?! Those leeches are miniature bombs! They explode only in reaction to the sound from my tongue! It was careless to think that flying is my only ability! Geeze! You shinigami! Hehehe!"

Chad stepped forward and the monster chuckled.

"I wouldn't do that. I already have some of my little friends nearby with the little birdy."

The parakeet went to say something, but I held a finger to my mouth, telling the bird to stay silent for a bit longer. Chad froze up, knowing that there was nothing he could do as the monster chuckled.

"Looks like you understand! Hehehe! Pretty smart, bug guy! I'll make sure the bird gets it if you take a single step! Well! Next is your turn to be smart, shinigami! Run around so I can have fun hunting down just you!"

Kuchiki started standing and I shifted my stance, ready to move.

"Don't move from here, Chad. He intends to blow up the birdcage immediately, if you take a single step."

"But…transfer student, you…"

"No need to worry about me." She said confidently. "I promised…not to mess up!"

She took off running and I watched as the monster and his little friends chased after her, before I revealed myself to Chad, standing before him and holding out the bird cage. He looked shocked, but accepted the cage as I jumped up onto the wall and gave him one order.

"Stay here."

I took off running thing, following Kuchiki's aura, and catching up quickly; just in time to see her miss a little monster running along the fence. The moment it went to cover her in leeches, I jumped between them and grabbed her, ignoring the squelching sound as the leeches hit my shoulder.

"Oh! A new player!" The monster said, pulling out his forked tongue. "Too bad you're covered in my little friends!"

He whistled and the leeches exploded, causing me to cringe, but I kept running, ignoring the laughter coming from the monster as Kuchiki fidgeted in my arms.

"H-Hey! Let me go!"

I ignored her, tightening my grip and jumping up to dodge a little monster that had been thrown at me.

"Hey, hey, hey! Where are you trying to go?! You don't have to just run off. It's okay, retaliate!"

I then sensed another presence and stopped, shoulders relaxing ever so slightly, confusing the monster.

"Huh? What? You're giving up? How boring. It's a rare opportunity to chase around a shinigami, much less two."

I turned to face it, eyes conveying my boredom as I spoke, trying to keep my voice as indistinguishable as possible by lowering it.

"I'm not giving up…There's no need to entertain you any longer."

"Ah? What'd you say?"

"You said that it's okay to retaliate, right?" Kuchiki said, squirming and I finally let her down. "In that case, we'll take your advice!"

"What do you mean?"

I stared back at the monster and then looked up, making the monster start to as well, only for Ichigo to jump on his head.

"Right, Ichigo?!" Kuchiki called out to him and he looked down at us with a glare.

"What's with this 'Right, Ichigo' crap?! Don't try to be all cool when you're all beaten up! Didn't you say you wouldn't mess up and cause me to worry?! And who's this guy?!"

I blinked slowly, not really caring to answer, and Kuchiki spoke instead.

"Idiot. Only someone who's at least a little worried would say a line like that."

"Heh, that's true too." He said as the monster began to complain.

"Ugh! How long are you gonna stand on my hea-"

Ichigo jumped down and turned around. "Ichigo Kurosaki, age fifteen! Presently, the acting shinigami! If you wanna chase around shinigami, then don't you have the wrong opponent?!"

"Bastard! The 'acting shinigami' you say? Now that you mention it, your soul smells even tastier than the miss over there. Dang, I made a mistake. When you two split up earlier, I should have targeted you from the beginning!"

The little monsters from before shot leeches at us the same moment that Kuchiki shoved Ichigo's soul from his body and I grabbed a hold of it and her before jumping with Ichigo onto the monster's head.

"You're slow." Ichigo said, swinging his large sword down and slicing into the monster's shoulder.

 _Too shallow. He's inexperienced._ I mused, setting Kuchiki down for now and adjusting Ichigo's body, tossing it over my shoulder. Ichigo sent me a brief glance from over his shoulder.

"Chad mentioned some ninja guy dropping off his birdcage. I'm guessing he meant you?"

I shrugged, lazily looking around and leaning my head back to look up at the clouds, making him impatient.

"Oi! Look at someone when they're talking to you!"

"Ichigo!" Kuchiki scolded. "He's not the issue at the moment. The leeches those small things spit out, make sure you're careful of them, they're bombs!"

Ichigo sent me one more look, but turned back to focus on the monster.

"Damn…You made Karin cry…took hostages…attacked a passive woman without hesitation…You're a complete bastard, huh?"

"Well, yeah. But it's going to be this bastard that will eat you."

I watched as Ichigo attacked the monster and grew bored quickly, tired of watching Ichigo's horrible stances as he fought and instead brought his body over to a large telephone pole and sat it up against the fence with a grimace. Kuchiki came over as well, probably not wanting to be caught up in the fight and watched as I took a deep breath and made my hand glow green, healing up the damage done to my shoulder from the leeches. I only looked her way when she gasped in shock.

"You…You know the healing arts?"

 _Healing what?_ I looked over at my hand and back up at her. _If she means this, then I guess so. I should probably heal her injuries too._ I pointed at her and she recoiled in confusion. _I really don't want to speak again._ Frowning, I pointed to my still glowing hand and back at her.

"You want to…heal me?"

I nodded and she hesitantly sat down beside me, allowing me to heal her arm and head just as Chad came running up with the parakeet.

"I-Ichigo?! W-What's happened to Ichigo?!"

As Kuchiki started explaining, I watched as Ichigo fought and the disaster he was creating of the road. _Doesn't he know the city doesn't have enough money to clean up after all of his messes?_ I frowned though when Ichigo had the monster in the perfect position to finish him, but stopped to ask about it. _He's soft…He…shouldn't be dwelling on their past._ Just then, I heard the parakeet behind me say something I didn't expect.

"I'm sorry…I'm sorry…I want mommy to come back to life, but…but I…"

"Wait." I said, ignoring the fact that I had used my voice after saying I wasn't going to. "Who told you there was a way to do that?"

"H-He said if I could run away from him for 3 months t-that he'd return my mommy back to life."

A boiling pool of raw hatred sank into my stomach and I stood, ignoring everything Kuchiki was saying to me and walking over to the monster, just barely hearing him laugh.

"Your mom is waiting to be rescued!…It's fun, you know?! With that line alone, that brat would soon perk up! He'd wail, 'mommy, mommy'."

Ichigo swung his sword, but the monster stopped it and threw a handful of those little monsters at him, which he caught.

"Don't be so disturbed, shinigami! You're stance is unguarded! See?! They hit you! This time, it's over! Hahaha!"

The monster pulled out it's tongue, but Ichigo was too fast and slammed his fist full of bombs into the monster's mouth.

"Hey, I'm returning these bombs. What? You'd set off the bombs with that tongue, right? Let's hear you make a sounds with that tongue! You won't do it, huh? So then I'll just take your tongue!"

Ichigo jumped back with said appendage in his hand as the monster wailed.

"Bastard! How dare you! My tongu-" He cut himself off upon catching sight of me and the immense amount of killing intent I was radiating. "Y-You…"

He fell backwards and went to scoot out of range, but it was too late, I already pulled out my weapon and stabbed it into his upper thigh. I muttered under my breath and two more swords appeared in my hands, both glowing and a dark shade of red, before they were stabbed into his other leg and the other into his shoulder as I stepped close to the wailing monster.

"How does it feel?" I said back, voice so emotionless that it was scary. Can you enjoy it just a little? How it's like to be the one on the other side of the knife?"

The monster squealed, slicing off it's own legs and trying to fly off. Ichigo went off after him, equally furious as he sliced through the head of the monster and finally finished it off. The moment he did though, a set of doors came crashing down and I frowned, moving past Kuchiki, who reached out and stopped me.

"Who are you?"

I gave her a look and raised a hand up, snapping my fingers as my sword appeared in my hand, sheathing it and walking off with my final parting words.

"A lost soul."


	3. Chapter 3

I sighed the next morning, having not yet gotten up for school, holding my hand in front of me and flexing it, worried as my hand shook. _I used too much…That's what I get for getting carried away with that monster. Looks like I'll need to stop by_ his _place._ I sighed, sitting up and scratching my head with a yawn, before looking out the window to see a pair of yellow eyes looking back. I rolled my eyes and opened said window, letting Yoruichi come in and scratching behind her ears, earning a purr.

"I need to stop by Urahara's place, Yoruichi. You're welcome to come along, if you want." I said, pulling on my school uniform.

She meowed and jumped up onto my shoulder, rubbing her face against my cheek as I pet her and went into the kitchen to pop a piece of bread in the toaster. I checked the calendar, checking to see if anyone had any appointments with me today and if it was the anniversary of anyone I had promised flowers. Luckily, today was a pretty clear day and the only work I had was a bit of filing, which I could do later. As my toast popped up, I headed back over and put the corner of it in my mouth, holding it there while I cleaned everything up before heading out.

Urahara's place wasn't too far from where I was, but it was far enough that I knew I would probably be late to school. _Oh well. I'll just say I had business to take care of and it'll be fine. Perfect attendance wasn't a goal of mine anyway._ I yawned again, covering my mouth as I rounded the corner and quickly stopped, upon being spotted by someone unexpected.

"Hm? Aren't you…"

 _Kuchiki…_ I decided against saying anything and simply walked past her.

"Ah! Wait!"

I stopped with a quiet sigh out my nose, turning to look over my shoulder at her. "What?"

She fidgeted a bit, before gathering her courage and straightening her shoulders with a serious expression.

"Why are you not at school?"

I blinked slowly. "I could ask you the same."

She bristled slightly, face turning red in embarrassment, and I rolled my eyes with a sigh.

"If you really must know, I'm doing errands. There's a shop near here that I frequent."

I started walking off, but she followed me, looking suspiciously at myself and Yoruichi; who was curled up around my neck purring.

"But why do them now? Wouldn't it be better to do it after school?"

I didn't even look at her as I responded this time. "I have work after. Papers to file, accounts to balance, coffins to make. Death seems to have been a very popular business lately."

She grimaced, looking ahead and frowning curiously at the road we were taking. _She probably recognizes it. I wouldn't be surprised if she goes to Urahara's place on occasion while she's here. Most shinigami do. I've even seen that afro one here a few times._

"Sounds like a lot of work for a kid like you." She commented. "Aren't your parents supposed to do things like that?"

I stiffened, something she noticed, and I quickly changed the subject.

"Are you doing errands in this area as well, Kuchiki?"

"Yeah, but…it's Rukia."

I nodded, filing that information away for later, when I rounded the corner and spotted Urahara's shop. The moment I began walking towards it, Rukia seemed to falter.

"A-Are you lost?"

I turned and gave her a bored glance. "No. The shop's right over there."

I pointed at Urahara's shop and she seemed to want to say something, but I didn't give her a chance before walking over and catching the broom handle that Jinta was using to bully Ururu.

"W-Who's there?! Tessa-"

He caught sight of me and I stared back, watching in slight amusement as he hid behind Ururu.

"I-I-It's you! W-What do you want?!"

I flipped the broom and whacked him upside the head with it, earning a complaint.

"Ow!"

"Respect your elders." I said, before handing the broom to Ururu and patting her on the head. "Good morning, Ururu."

"Morning, Satoshi!" She chirped with a smile.

"Do you think you could let Urahara know that I'm in?"

"Mmhm!" She then caught sight of Rukia behind me and I glanced over my shoulder at her as well, before pointing at her.

"She's here for some business too."

"O-Okay." Ururu muttered, before her and Jinta led us to the door.

"Hmph. Hey, Jinta. It's too early for opening hours!" Tessai said, until he caught sight of me. "Ah, good morning Satoshi."

"Morning. I got business with Urahara, her too." I thrust a finger over my shoulder at Rukia, handing the broom back to Jinta. "You think you could wake him and possibly make me some coffee?"

He nodded and just as he set the boxes he was carrying down and went to get Urahara, the man himself walked out with a loud yawn, rubbing his eyes as he walked over.

"G'mornin' Tessai, Jinta, Ururu, Yoruichi, Satoshi. And welcome, Miss Kuchiki." He adjusted his hat a bit with a smirk. "We received new products from the other world just yesterday. So, what would you like today?"

Rukia let out a fake laugh as I rolled my eyes and went over to browse through the aisles for what I needed; Yoruichi jumping off my shoulders and wandering over to Urahara, walking in and out of his legs.

"Ahahaha! You're so funny, Urahara! 'Other world'? You're such a joker!"

Urahara's smirk grew bigger and I felt his eyes on me as I picked up an energy replenisher and pretended to look over the label as I sent him a meaningful glance. _Don't you_ dare _give me away._

"You don't have to worry, Miss Kuchiki!" He said. "Satoshi's been stopping by for ages. Him and his step-father are long time customers. He probably doesn't have any idea what I'm talking about."

"Step-father?" Rukia questioned and I glared at Urahara, before chucking the product I had in my hand at his head, only to be disappointed when he caught it with a smile.

"Is this what you needed, Satoshi?~"

"Yeah." _And for you to keep your big mouth shut._ "These too."

I threw a few more at him and he easily caught them.

"Now, now, Satoshi. No throwing things in my store."

I clicked my tongue, but stopped throwing things, waiting as he added up the cost for what I needed and taking the bag of things from him before paying. He continued to smile pleasantly, but I could feel Rukia's stare on my back, and turned around.

"I'm going on ahead." I said to her, opening the door and sending one last glare at Urahara, before walking out.

After a bit of walking, I pulled out the energy replenisher and drank it quickly, not liking the bitter taste when I stopped, realizing something and turning back around with a frown. I headed back to Urahara's shop and opened the door, earning a chuckle from the man himself.

"Forget something?~"

"I want my coffee." I grumbled, feeling more tired than I should after this busy morning.

Tessai walked out from behind the man and handed me a to-go cup with coffee, to which I thanked him and drank deeply from the cup.

"You came back here just for a cup of coffee?"

I lowered it and gave her a bland look. "Tessai makes the best coffee."

"Thank you for the compliment, Satoshi." Tessai said with a small bow, and I nodded back, before looking down at Rukia.

"I take it you're done with your business?"

She nodded, hesitantly. "Y-Yeah. Why?"

I lifted my wrist and checked my watch, glancing back over at her. "We've already missed our first two classes."

She face palmed and we both hurried out, her waving quickly and myself sending back a lazy wave as we started on our way to school. Things seemed tense on the way there though and with all the glances Rukia was giving me, I was quickly becoming slightly annoyed..

"If you want to know, just ask." I finally grumbled out.

She seemed hesitant, but did ask. "He said step-father. Are your parents…divorced?"

"No."

We went back into silence, her obviously wanting to know more, so I sighed, pulling a hand through my hair.

"I don't have any parents. My step-father is the man who adopted me."

She looked up at me with a worried expression, making me flinch. _Don't do that. I hate that look. That pitying expression. They always make that face…every time…and then…_

" _Get out of my house!"_

" _You're a monster!"_

" _Look what you did!" Slap!_

I drank some more of my coffee, hoping that it would relax me a bit as Rukia spoke some more.

"You're adopted?"

I nodded. "My real parents are…dead."

"Oh."

Things went quiet and we finally reached the school, Rukia and I reporting to the teacher and explaining our lame excuses, but she let us off and we headed to the classroom, where Rukia made her entrance.

"Good morning everyone!"

"Ah, good morning, Kuchi-" Mizuiro started out, but Keigo cut him off.

"Kuchiki!~ You're as lovely as always!"

I scratched the back of my head as I walked past her and over towards my seat, but Mizuiro caught sight of me.

"Satoshi too? It's rare you two are late to school, especially since you two walked in together."

"Huh?"

I gave Ichigo a bored expression and Rukia went to cover for us both.

"Yes. I had some business at home and bumped into Satoshi while he was running some errands for his work." She then turned to Ichigo. "By the way, Kurosaki, do you have a moment?"

"Huh? What is it? If you need to talk then why not right h-Urk!"

Ichigo suddenly collapsed as Rukia had punched him in the stomach and she began dragging him out of the room, obviously not wanting to say whatever it was out here where people could hear. I could care less though and simply sat in my seat to await the teacher's return. When she did, she took a look around the room in confusion.

"Where's Kurosaki? He was here earlier."

I raised my hand, figuring that I could cover for him this once. "He wasn't feeling well. Kuchiki took him to the nurse."

The teacher nodded with a grin, slapping down her lecture. "Alright. Then on with the lecture!"

I could feel myself dozing off throughout the lecture and was thankful when it was over, only to remember that I didn't bring any lunch with me and that I had spent my money on the energy replenishers. Sighing, I grabbed one from my bag and chugged the shot-like drink down, hand twitching for a cigarette.

"Hm? No lunch today, Satoshi?"

I glanced to my right to spot Mizuiro with Keigo and Chad.

"No. I spent my money on things for business and I forgot to grab something before I left this morning."

He frowned. "That's too bad. Do you want to come with us down to the vending machines? I'll get you something, but you have to pay me back." He held up a finger and winked, but I shook my head.

"No. I'll be fine. I'll just grab something on the way home." _I have a bad feeling too…I wonder why._

"Well, alright. I'll see you later then, Satoshi."

"Mm." I hummed, turning towards the window with my chin in my palm as him and the other two headed out.

Not long afterwards, I cringed upon hearing Orihime shout from across the room.

"Yay! It's lunch!"

"Not again!" The girl beside her said; one I hadn't been introduced to yet, but one I recognized from the time I helped deal with Orihime's brother. "It's just lunch, so calm down!"

"What are you talking about, Tatsuki! Normal high school girls only come to school for lunch!"

 _Tatsuki, huh…_ I glanced at her in curiosity. _She seems different from the other girls._ Orihime must have caught me staring, for she soon called me over, excitedly.

"Satoki! Come join us for lunch!"

I sweat dropped and stood up, grumbling to myself. "It's Satoshi."

She just grinned as she pulled out a huge loaf of bread and a little can of honey. "What's your lunch, Satoshi?"

I held up my little energy shot as I pulled out a chair beside the couple of desks her and Tatsuki pushed together.

"That's not good for you, Satoshi!" Orihime scolded as I finished it off. "Here! I'll share my bread and honey with you!"

Tatsuki next to me scoffed, taking a bit out of her own food. "You better do what she says. Knowing her, she probably won't let it go until you do."

"Mm. No kidding." I muttered, taking some of the offered bread and hesitantly dipping it in the honey.

"I'm Tatsuki, by the way. Tatsuki Arisawa. Don't know how you met Orihime here, but you seem like a decent guy. Better than Ichigo, anyway."

"Satoshi Yuuma. And I helped her from being hit by a car." I said, dipping some more bread in honey since it was actually pretty good.

"She did _what?!_ "

Before Tatsuki could do anything, another girl suddenly showed up, holding out her wrapped bento excitedly.

"Hime! Let's eat together!"

"Yeah! Okay!" Orihime said, a smile on her face, though crumbs stuck to her cheeks.

This new girl seemed to get really excited about that and tackled Orihime in a hug.

"So cute! Eating a whole loaf of bread and smiling with crumbs on her mouth. A normal person can't replicate this cuteness. This is the girl that captured my heart!" She suddenly cupped Orihime's chin, making me pause in my eating in surprise. "In many ways. I want to eat you~"

Tatsuki had seen enough. "Hey, Chizuru! Not during lunch! Why don't you just eat a quiet lunch in the girl's tennis room? Orihime has no desire to walk down your path!"

"Be quiet. That's none of your business. You are pretty, but since your personality is so masculine, I have no interest." This Chizuru girl sighed dreamily. "Oh, what a waste. If you were just a bit more feminine, I could imprison you and slowly turn you on to the joy of women."

Tatsuki shivered and I slowly began raising my bread back up to my mouth.

"She looks cute to me."

All eyes suddenly turned to me as I chewed a bit of bread, not realizing I had said that out loud, and Tatsuki started to turn red before grabbing my shirt collar and getting in my face.

"W-What the hell are you saying?!"

Chizuru also pushed her way over. "Did you just say this tramp is _cute_?!"

I blinked, not really sure what to do about this situation, but Orihime managed to save me when she suddenly stood up and went to the window, putting a foot up on the window sill, making like she was going to climb outside.

"What is it, Orihime? Ah! Hey, your panties are showing!"

I turned her direction as well, but Tatsuki glared at me and forced me to turn away.

"Don't look, you idiot!"

"Sorry." I muttered, when she suddenly let me go and hurried to pull Orihime back from the window.

"I smelled Kurosaki!" Orihime said, making me question what her body was made of.

 _First her ridiculous diet, and now a suddenly keen sense of smell?_ Tatsuki seemed to agree.

"'Smelled'? What are you, a dog? Plus, this is the 3rd floor. Even if you smelled him, he couldn't come through-"

Now, I'm not one for believing in the impossible, but when Ichigo suddenly popped up in the window, I actually dropped my bread in shock. That is, up until I felt his aura and how different it was. _That's not Ichigo…_ Tatsuki immediately screamed, pulling Orihime back with her in shock.

"You! How'd you get up here?!"

"How?" This fake Ichigo questioned. "Didn't you see it? I _jumped_ up. You surprised?"

I looked around the class room, a bit nervous. _There's too many people here. Whatever is in Ichigo's body, I can't do anything about it until he's somewhere more secluded._

"It's amazing, right? You're surprised, right?"

He seemed to relish in the shock that he'd inflicted on the students and I slowly stood from my seat, ready to move if I needed to; hand in my back pocket to grab my glove. He then turned his sights onto Orihime and jumped right from the window to the desk in front of her.

"Pleasure to meet you, pretty lady. Would you please tell me your name?"

He then kissed her hand, confirming that he _wasn't_ Ichigo. Tatsuki though, took offense and put him in a choke hold.

"Ichigo! Do you know what you're doing?! This isn't funny! Get away from Orihime!"

He leaned back and looked at her curiously. "From close up, you're pretty cute too."

"Huh?"

He leaned over and kissed her cheek, and I felt a stirring in my stomach, quickly growing frustrated. Nothing I could've done though, would've compared to Tatsuki's reaction though, as she picked up a desk and hurled it at the imposter.

"Die!"

"Whoa, watch out! What? All I did was kiss your cheek, calm down! Are you in grade school or something?"

"Shut up!" She shouted, swinging another desk at him.

I wanted to get the imposter out of Ichigo's body, but at the same time, a small part of me was glad that Tatsuki was trying to kick his ass. _Then again…I get the feeling that I got off easy when I called her cute earlier…_

"That's enough!"

I turned to the door to see Rukia and the imposter went to run out the window, just as the real Ichigo showed up in his shinigami uniform.

"There he goes, Ichigo!"

"Yeah! Now, there's nowhere to…run?"

The imposter jumped out the window and I watched as Rukia hurried over to the window as well, mentioning something about a 'mod soul'. I was very confused, but just then, my cell phone rang and I answered it.

"Hey, Satoshi! I was wondering if you could possibly help me with something."

I slowly left the classroom, pulling a hand through my hair as I responded to Urahara. "It wouldn't happen to have anything to do with the thing in Ichigo's body, would it?"

"Oh! So you know about it?"

"Yeah…He just jumped out of my third story classroom window and took off. Kuchiki and Ichigo are after him now."

"Good! Well, you see, I was thinking you could help us out by going after it and retrieving it for us. Or at least slowing it down until we get there. I'll even pay you a bit for it."

I started walking, having calmed down from the surprise. "Sounds interesting. Tell me about it."

"Well, it's what we call a mod soul. It was part of a project the soul society came up with. Putting souls in dead bodies to use as soldiers to fight hollows."

"Hollows…That's what you call those monster things, right?" I questioned, leaving the school and heading home, not caring about the classes I was going to miss.

"That's right. Each one has an enhancement and from what you were saying, this one has enhanced leg strength. They were supposed to have been taken care of, but seems one got into our package that we sold to Miss Kuchiki."

I frowned suddenly. "You mean…"

"Yup. They were ordered to be destroyed."

I sighed, having reached my home and begun pulling out my keys, tossing my bag aside once I'd entered and going to change.

"I'll see what I can do, but no promises."

"Thanks, Satoshi!~"

I hung up on him and pulled on my black clothes, frowning in the mirror as I put my sword around my waist. _What it must be like, finally having a body after being told you were to be destroyed…_ I suddenly sweat dropped. _He must be having a blast._ I pulled up my mask and headed to the window, climbing up on the sill and jumping out onto the roof with a shake of my head. _I wouldn't be surprised if he's just out jumping around the city like an idiot._ Little did I know, that's exactly what he was doing.

* * *

By the time I found him, he was running across some rooftops not looking as happy as I expected him to be. Just as I was about to go down and knock him out of Ichigo's body though, I suddenly sensed one of those mon-hollows and hesitated. Looking down at him from the roof I was on, I was curious to see that he too, had stopped and was looking in the direction of the hollow. _Odd…Is he planning on going to go fight it?_ I watched as he took off in that direction and followed him quietly, planning on watching for now, until I felt as though he was either going to be in danger, or was going to be the one causing it.

I didn't expect the hollow to show up at an elementary school though and even worse, Karin and Yuzu's school. Even now, as I kept an eye on the caterpillar monster, I was worried about them since I could feel their aura not far off. _What's worse, this hollow is targeting those kids down there._ Suddenly, the hollow attacked and the mod soul in Ichigo's body managed to pull the three kids out of the way. _Safe for now._ I sighed, watching the kids argue with the mod soul, before shifting my eyes back over to the hollow just as it went to strike. Cursing, I jumped down and just barely managed to deflect it's attack with my sword, though it still nicked the mod soul's shoulder.

"Ahh!" The kids screamed, running off, but the mod soul just sat on the ground in shock, a hand on his shoulder wound.

"W-Wha…"

I glared back at him, not pleased with his idiocy. "Move to higher ground!"

He nodded and ran up towards the roof of the building as I struggled to keep the hollow's attention on me. Problem was, I couldn't keep it down here where people could possibly get hurt and it's attention was focused solely on the mod soul. Reluctantly, I allowed it to follow the mod soul up to the roof and I hurried after it.

"I thought you were keeping it away from me!" The mod soul shouted as I jumped up behind the hollow.

"Had to get it away from the kids." I replied, dodging an attack from the hollow and jumping off it's head to land beside the mod soul.

The hollow growled as I glared at it. "Interfering with my meal, running around…I don't know who you are, but a weakling like you shouldn't get involved!"

It charged suddenly, but Ichigo popped out of no where and cut it's leg off, shouting. "Exactly!"

The hollow wailed in pain as Ichigo stood there in silent frustration.

"You…Why did you save-" The mod soul was cut off as Ichigo grabbed the front of his shirt and proceeded to yell at him, myself choosing to scoot back a bit to avoid conflict.

"You're injured! Whose body do you think this is?! If you're going to get hurt fighting trash like this, then don't jump in!" He scolded, stabbing the hollow.

"W-What are you talking about? I'm fighting because you took so long to arrive! Even this guy was here before you!" The mod soul shouted in response. "If I hadn't fought, those kids would have-"

He was cut off as the hollow charged again. "I'll eat the both of you!"

"Shut up!" They both shouted; Ichigo cutting it with his sword and the mod soul kicking it.

The hollow was defeated, but I spotted the mod soul running towards it and kick it upwards, causing me to roll my eyes and hurry after him; grabbing him along with Ichigo before he fell off the roof.

"You idiot!" Ichigo yelled. "What are you doing?! Hollows vanish on their own if you cut their heads! Why would you kick it upwards?! What are you thinking?! It's as if you didn't want it to fall there-"

The two of us pulled the mod soul back over the railing and Ichigo stared at the ground in shock, a small line of ants walking where the hollow would have landed. _Who would've thought…_

"A line of ants? It can't be…" Ichigo turned to him with a small frown. "You aren't going to talk like a saint and say you didn't want them to be crushed, are you?"

"Y-Yeah! So what?! I-I won't kill anything!" The mod soul replied, before looking down at the ground. "Right after I was born, soul society ordered the mod souls to be destroyed…and the day after I was born, I was already chosen to die! Everyday while I was in that pill, I was afraid. As I watched my friends disappear each day. Even after I got lucky and escaped the storage among other pills, I feared being discovered and killed."

I flinched, a dark memory rising up from the depths of my mind. Myself as a child hiding in a small hallway closet, trying my best to stay quiet so they wouldn't find me. So they wouldn't hurt me. Trembling and trying to keep the tears from falling.

"As I trembled in fear, I would think…Life isn't something that should be taken by others. I was born like this! I should at least have the right to live and die freely!" The mod soul shouted, before quieting a bit. "Whether it's humans or insects…or even us…It's the same. That's why I won't kill. I won't kill anything."

"My, my." I heard from behind us and I turned to see Urahara standing there with his cane and Ururu, Jinta, and Tessai standing behind him with rather large weapons.

"We finally found you." He looked up at me. "If you would."

I nodded and pulled on my glove, slamming my palm into Ichigo's body and knocking the mod soul out, catching it in my other hand and lowering Ichigo's body to the ground.

"Wha…"

I started walking back over to Urahara, but paused as Ichigo began shouting.

"W-Wait! What are you going to do with him?!"

I stopped and looked back at Ichigo, but Urahara was the one to answer.

"What?…Dispose of it. Why?"

"You can see me…" Ichigo muttered. "Who are you?…"

"Oh, how should I answer that?" Urahara questioned, just as Rukia walked past him and towards me.

"He's a greedy salesman." She said, before holding her hand out to me. "I'll take that."

I blinked, unsure what to do as Urahara shouted in the background.

"K-Kuchiki! Don't take that!"

"What, Urahara? Does your store take items you sold to a customer without compensation?" She questioned, looking back at him, though her hand was still held out to me.

"Oh, well then…I'll pay." Urahara offered.

"No, need. I am satisfied with the product. Plus, you guys are working outside of the law anyway. You don't have any responsibility to recover him."

 _She got him there…_ I mused as Urahara grew serious.

"We're not responsible then? If trouble comes, we'll play dumb."

"Don't worry. I'm getting used to trouble lately." Rukia replied, turning back to me with a stern look.

I looked up at Urahara, but he nodded, of I dropped the small pill in her hand; speaking quietly as she walked past.

"Take care of him."

She turned around and faced me, but at that point I was already walking over to Urahara with a glare.

"I better still get paid."

He chuckled nervously, but nodded, pulling out his wallet and passing me some cash with an overdramatic crying face. I rolled my eyes and went to go, but Rukia wasn't having it.

"Wait!"

I paused, dropping my head at being stopped when all I wanted to do was head home and get some filing done.

"Who _are_ you? And why do you keep showing up around us?"

I looked over my shoulder at her and sighed, shifting my glance to Urahara so he could explain without giving me away, but quickly decided against that and turned back.

"A friend."


	4. Chapter 4

A while has passed since the incident with the mod soul and today…well, today was a day I wished would never come. More specifically, tomorrow, because tomorrow was the day that my step-father died. It was the fourth year anniversary, but that didn't meant that I would cry about it. Even now, as I stood in my bathroom looking into the mirror, I could see the sadness hidden away in my eyes, begging to be let out. But I wouldn't let it. I would never let that out because his death was my fault. _I_ was to be blamed and as much as he would probably deny it, I knew it was true.

Sighing, I made my way to the flower shop to grab some flowers, knowing that Ichigo's family was going to be going through a similar process as I was for the next couple of days. I just so happened to bump into Mizuiro on my way to Ichigo's house though and right now, we were waiting out in front of Ichigo's house and he'd just poked his head out of his window, in the process of unbuttoning his shirt.

"Mizuiro! Sorry! I just woke up!" He then spotted me as I gave him a lazy wave. "What are you doing here?!"

"Brought you flowers." I said, holding up the bouquet.

What can I say? I couldn't help it.

Ichigo turned beet red and leaned further out of the window in outrage. "What the hell?!"

Mizuiro chuckled and waved up at him. "We bumped into each other on the way here. Satoshi said he had some business to take care of here or something."

I nodded and Ichigo pulled back, brows scrunched up in confusion. "Well, do you two want to come in and wait?"

"Okay!~" Mizuiro chimed, and we both headed in, me handing the flowers over to Yuzu and making sure she knew to tell her father should he show up.

They were nice enough to give me some breakfast as I waited and once Ichigo came down, we headed off to school. Thing was, Ichigo was being awfully nice to me on the way to school, but I shrugged it off, figuring that it had to do with him realizing that the anniversary of his mother's death was coming up. The only reason _I_ knew was because my step-father had been particularly quiet around this time of year and whenever I asked, he just smiled and said he lost a good friend and that he'd be off delivering flowers so I was to close up shop early. _I only found out when he was on his death bed…_ I sighed as we walked into class, feeling particularly down after that depressing line of thought, though Orihime was as cheery as ever.

"Good morning, Kurosaki! Good morning, Satoshi!"

 _Oh, look. She got my name right._ "Morning." I said, dully.

"Hey! Morning, Inoue!" Ichigo replied, cheerfully, which seemed to throw her off.

School went by pretty normally after that though. Ichigo was overly cheerful to people he knew and Rukia and Orihime kept sending him looks, while I just stayed my usual self in the hopes that no one would notice that I _was_ quieter than usual. When I got home though, I let out a long sigh and sat down at my desk full of paperwork. _So much work to do…but at least I'm off tomorrow…Ichigo's not the only person who lost someone and it gives me a chance to relax after everything that's happened…_ Shaking my head out of my thoughts, I leaned over and turned on a radio to distract me before picking up a set of reading glasses that I rarely used, and diving into my paperwork that needed to be done.

* * *

" _Satoshi…"_

" _Y-Yeah?"_

 _My step-father looked over at me with a small smile, lifting his thin, pale arm and wiping my face._

" _You shouldn't cry. Everything will be alright."_

 _I looked down at his other arm where it was holding his bleeding abdomen, struggling to do as he asked and hold back the tears._

" _B-But dad-"_

 _He chuckled. "That's the first time you actually called me your father."_

 _My eyes widened in realization, before I bowed my head and bit my bottom lip, choking back a sob._

" _You stupid old man. How can you be so happy about this? This…This is all my-"_

" _Now, don't you say that." He said sternly, making me flinch, before he placed his hand over my fisted one and spoke softer. "This isn't your fault and I don't want you to think that."_

 _I lifted my head, unable to keep the tears from flowing any longer. "How can you say that?! Y-You're dying and it's all because I-"_

" _Satoshi, please."_

 _I quieted down, wiping my face in frustration. I wasn't normally like this. I didn't do emotions, but him…he always seemed to pull them out somehow._

" _Satoshi, I want you to do something for me. When I go."_

" _No. You won't go. Y-You can't! You can't leave me alone!"_

" _Come now, Satoshi. You know it's going to happen."_

 _I grabbed his hand sloppily in mine, not even caring about the rain that now poured down._

" _T-That doesn't mean I have to like it…"_

 _He let out a chuckle again, but this one cut off with a cough, worrying me. "Now, Satoshi, I need you to listen, okay? You're going to take over my shop for me, alright? But with that comes that great responsibility to help those people's spirits, okay? Can I trust you to do that?"_

 _I nodded, squeezing his cold hand in my warm one. "Y-Yeah. Promise."_

" _Now, no more fighting." He chided. "No midnight snacking or leaving your clothes lying all around the house."_

 _I gave him another nod, chuckling a bit as I wiped my eyes. "O-Okay."_

" _And if you can…go back to school. You're a smart kid, Satoshi. So go out and prove that…Show all those people out there who pick fights with you, that you can do more than just give a good punch. And find some good friends."_

 _He began coughing and I grew even more worried, calling out to him. "Dad? Dad?!"_

" _C-C-Calm down." He huffed out. "I'm not gone yet. There's still…one more thing."_

" _W-What?"_

" _I want you to make sure that you bring flowers to the Kurosaki clinic every year around this time, okay? The man living there, he's a good friend of mine and he lost his wife. I wanted to tell you sooner but…" He coughed some more. "This old man had to keep one secret from you, right?"_

 _I nodded more, closing my eyes against the rain that dripped into them. "Y-You're right dad. I'll do that. I'll do it. A-And I'm sorry about everything. All the problems I caused you…so please…please don't leave me."_

 _I opened my eyes, but his were closed and his hand was limp in mine, a small smile on his face._

" _Dad? Dad?! N-No, dad! Dad! Please! P-Please…"_

* * *

I woke up with a start, causing a few papers to fall off the desk I'd fallen asleep on. Pulling off my glasses and picking up the papers, I wiped at my eyes, feeling the remains of my tears and deciding that I best get a shower in before I left if I wanted to look even semi-decent. Once I finished that, I went into my closet and pulled out a nice pair of black pants and a white dress shirt as well as a black tie and black coat to wear. I even went into my step-father's room and just stood there for a moment before snatching his old fedora from off his bed post, dusting it off and plopping it on my head. I just wish I didn't turn around.

He always kept this full sized mirror on the ground, leaning up against the wall right by the door. He never put it up on the wall like he should have and never let me move it. And he always said the same thing when I asked about why he left it there.

" _Why? Because I get to know if I look the way I want to feel before I leave the room."_

" _And if you don't?"_

 _He smiled. "Then I have to wait here and act like a fool until I feel like smiling."_

 _I frowned. "Why the heck would you want to smile all the time?"_

 _He placed a hand on my head like I was a child and looked at me seriously. "Our business would be dead if we never smiled, Satoshi. I want you to always remember that. Okay?"_

 _He ruffled my hair with a grin and I complained about it, before he pointed to the mirror, making me see the smile that had stretched across my own face._

" _See? Even_ you _can smile."_

When I looked at the mirror now though, all I saw was a tall, tired old man who had given up on smiling long ago. _Disappointing, isn't it, dad? I look like an old man and… I've forgotten how to smile…_ I sighed, tugging the fedora down further on my head before leaving the room and making my way to the flower store once more and then onwards to the cemetery where my step-father had been buried. It had taken a bit longer than I expected to get up the large hill to where his memorial stone was, but I reached it eventually and went through the process of cleaning it and putting in the flowers and lighting the incense. I didn't pray though. No, I just stood there and stared at it, pulling out a cigarette and holding it in my mouth. I couldn't light it. Not in front of him. He wouldn't want me to. But my peaceful remembering was cut short as some other people approached the area I was at. Low and behold, Ichigo and his family had a plot not a few stones down from my step-father's.

"What the-Are you freaking following me?!" Ichigo shouted, but Isshin stepped forward with a small smile.

"It's been a whole year already?"

I nodded, solemnly, putting my cigarette away for now. "Yeah."

Ichigo seemed to realize what was going on at this point and went quiet, his sisters doing the same. Isshin though, set a heavy hand on the fedora on my head, pushing it down to cover my eyes with a chuckle.

"Don't just stand there looking all mopey. Haruto would've wanted you to smile, right?"

I frowned up at him as I fixed my hat, but I silently knew he was right and looked back at the grave stone with the tiniest of smiles.

"Yeah, I guess he would've, huh?"

I heard sniffling off to my left and quickly dropped the smile upon seeing Yuzu's tearful face, going into a panic thinking that I was the one who upset her.

"U-Um, I'm sorry." I said, hurrying over and kneeling down, hands waving about. "D-Don't cry."

 _I'm_ really _not good with crying kids._ I thought with a sweat-drop, watching as she wiped her eyes, though the sniffling continued and Karin groaned.

"Come on, Yuzu. Enough waterworks. Look, you're making him panic."

Quickly trying to come up with something that would stop her from getting upset, I remembered something I'd picked up on the way here and reached into my coat pocket, pulling out the small daisy.

"Please, don't cry." I asked, handing it to her.

She saw the flower and took it, giving me a small smile in return as she finally stopped crying and suddenly wrapped her arms around my neck in a hug.

"I-I'm so sorry, Satoshi!"

I blinked, not really sure what to do or why she was telling me she was sorry, and I looked to Karin and Ichigo for help, but they shrugged; leaving me on my own.

"Um…thank you?" I hesitantly said, patting her on the back before she let go, allowing me to stand up.

I turned back to Isshin then and cleared my throat, pointing up the trail. "I'm going to head up the hill for a bit. Leave you guys to your mourning."

He nodded as well, still grinning. "Of course. And thank you for the flowers this morning too."

I nodded briefly and began my trek, waving back to Yuzu and the others, before sighing and stuffing my hands in my pockets; adopting my usual blank expression that I had lost in my panic a moment ago. I ended up getting lost in my thoughts as I roamed the cemetery, not actively looking for ghosts, but finding a few who were willing to have a nice chat and pass on. That's how a lot of the older people go. They just want a final chat with someone. Even if it's just a family member praying for them. But there's always those few who don't have a family member there for them, and those are the ones I talk to. The lonely ones.

It had been a while though and as I heard the sound of some ridiculous rooster whistle of some sort, I shook my head and began heading back to the entrance of the cemetery. I lit a cigarette on the way and enjoyed the nice view, though the heat could have been something I could do without, when I felt something odd. My head swiveled towards the source of the odd sensation and I paused, standing there and trying to get a better grip on what I was feeling. It didn't take long though, before the feeling grew and I suddenly realized that it wasn't a good thing. _A hollow? Here? And that's…Karin! Yuzu!_ I cursed under my breath and quickly began heading towards the auras, pulling out my glove and loosening my tie as I focused my energy to my legs and easily jumping over the tombstones and walls.

I sent my senses out, checking for anyone else nearby and caught a hint of Ichigo's and Rukia's auras heading in the same direction, though they were closer than I. _What Rukia is doing here though, I have no idea._ Once I reached the area where the hollow was, I hid my presence and knelt over by a group of rocks where Yuzu and Karin were at, unconscious. _But not hurt other than a couple of bruises, thanks to Ichigo, no doubt._ I mused, healing them quickly as I felt Rukia approaching. I jumped up into the tree above them at that point and watched silently as Rukia left Ichigo's body there along with the mod soul from before-though he was in a stuffed lion for some reason-and she headed to Ichigo's side. As she spoke, I took mental notes, eyeing the hollow from my place in the trees and doing my best to come up with a plan should Ichigo not be experienced enough to handle this…Grand Fisher.

"He hides his body while his neck protrudes a lure that takes on a human shape. Humans who can see that…That is to say, he attacks and devours humans who have souls of high spiritual density. By doing this, he increases his own strength. For 54 long years, he has continued to elude us shinigami." Rukia said, ripping something and handing it to Ichigo. "That's him. He's highly infamous. Look. His name is so well known that the soul society's database has an extensive record on him."

"As you say, brat." The hollow hissed as I frowned. "Anyway, there are so many who can see my form. What a catch. Hehe. I'm happy. So happy. One, two, three…Oh man. I wonder if all of you will fit in my stomach. Hehehe!"

Suddenly, Ichigo charged and I flinched, wanting to stop him but just barely holding myself back. _That idiot! What is he thinking, just charging in there?!_ I paused though, watching him as he attempted to fight the hollow. _I know that look…Rage, anger, fury…_ I paused in my thoughts, watching as the hollow regenerated his arm and threw his fur at Ichigo. _This hollow…Ichigo knows it. He_ hates _it…This fight is personal._

"Stop Rukia!" He shouted, keeping Rukia from attacking it as he cut the fur off him. "Rukia! Stay back this time. I'll do this alone. You go with Kon and look after Karin and Yuzu."

"Don't talk nonsense! He's strong! I told you! For more than 50 years, he's eluded shiniga-"

"Shut up!" He shouted, before getting softer, just loud enough for me to hear him. "Please…don't interfere. This is my fight."

I shook my head a frown marring my features as I watched Rukia below me fighting with Kon about going into Ichigo's body.

"Hell no!"

"Don't make a racket. Don't struggle and don't complain! I'll set you on fire!"

"No!" He shouted in return, Rukia holding his over Ichigo's body's mouth. "Getting burnt is bad, but this is much worse! Why the hell do I have to kiss him?!"

"I didn't say kiss! I said get closer!"

"Even so, no way! Ah!" He screamed as she shoved him closer. "It stinks! It stinks! It stinks! He probably never brushes his teeth!"

I sweat dropped at his overreacting and Rukia simply gave his a tap on the back of his head with her gloved hand, knocking his pill into Ichigo's mouth.

"Nasty! Gya! Bleah! Ugh! Geh!" He gagged, scuttling off to the side to scrub his mouth off with his hand. "Dammit! T-This damn mouth…"

"Don't whine! It's unsightly, Kon!" Rukia replied. "Come on! Let's move the girls quickly!"

She paused for a moment before starting to walk off, her carrying Yuzu and Kon carrying Karin, but I let out a short sigh, jumping out of the tree silently behind them and hiding my glove for now. After all, Ichigo was fighting a battle that even _I_ knew better than to interfere with.

"Need some help?" I asked, making Rukia turn around in shock as I stood there calmly with my hands in my pockets.

"Wha-Satoshi?"

I tilted my fedora up a bit and gave her a look. "I didn't expect you to be here."

"I-I…" She quickly grew serious. "I could say the same."

I raised a brow, before glancing at Yuzu in her arms. "Let me take her."

She hesitated, but handed her over and we began walking once more, though she was giving me suspicious looks the whole time.

"He'll be okay, you know." I said, not bothering to look at her as we walked.

"Huh?"

"Ichigo." I stated, sending her a glance before looking ahead once more. "He won't die so easily."

That seemed to have startled her, for she quickly began shouting.

"What?! Y-You could see that?!"

"There's a lot about me you don't know, Rukia." I said quietly as we approached a small building where Isshin was; him seeing the unconscious Yuzu and Karin, and ushering us inside with a laugh, saying that they were probably worn out.

Kon stayed with them for a while whereas Rukia and I stayed outside, her eyeing me as I chewed on the end of my cigarette until Kon came back out.

"Is that enough?"

"Good work." She replied, and Kon let out a sigh of relief.

"Whew! Keeping my eyebrows knit together all the time is exhausting! How does Ichigo keep this face all the time?!" Kon then looked at me. "You too! You have that same face!"

I let out the drag I had just taken and raised a brow his way, not really caring about what he was saying, though I didn't exactly like being compared to Ichigo. Rukia though, decided to ask her questions now, which was something I was actually glad for. _Her looks were getting annoying._

"Satoshi. You said you could see Ichigo and the hollow…How?"

I tapped the cigarette, dropping ashes to the ground and lifting it back up to my lips as I shifted my gaze to her.

"You tell me. I've seen them since I could remember."

She frowned, obviously not liking my answer. "And what about Kon? You don't seem surprised."

I shrugged, putting my hands back into my pockets. "I remember him from class that one time. He acted different than Ichigo and I saw the real Ichigo in the window. Similar situation now, right?"

She continued to get more frustrated. "Well, what are you doing here?!"

I frowned slightly. "Same as them. Visiting my step-father."

Her anger suddenly lessened as her eyes widened, before they softened and she looked at the ground. "Sorry."

I lightened up as well, taking another drag. "You couldn't have known. It's fine…You're not going?"

She looked over, confused. "Go where?"

I nodded into the forest and Kon picked up the answer for me.

"Oh, he means to save Ichigo."

Rukia looked away again. "He said not to interfere."

"So…you're really going to leave this alone? It's a strong hollow this time. Didn't you say that?" He asked, and she stayed silent. "He's…not going to die, right?"

"I don't know…"

"Well, can I ask a favor? Please go and save Ichigo."

She seemed surprised, but Kon quickly fell to his knees and bowed.

"Please!"

"Q-Quit it, Kon! Men should now bow their heads so easily!"

"It's not easily!" He said, standing up and dusting off his hands. "For me, this is a big problem! Because, if that guy dies, I'll have to stay in this body forever. I'd have to keep living with that damn noisy family." He paused, seeming to realize what he was actually saying, and slapped a hand to his face in anguish. "Aw man! I definitely couldn't take that! I'd be dead! I'd die! Definitely die! For that reason, I'm begging you!"

He quickly went back to bowing and Rukia finally gave in.

"I-I understand! I understand, so quit it!"

"Really?! You'll go?!"

She turned to go, before giving him a serious look over her shoulder. "In return…you stay here to protect them!"

"Just leave it to me!" He said confidently and she took off, but Kon turned to me. "You're not going?"

I gave him a look. "Why would _I_ go?"

He frowned, scratching the back of his head with a shrug. "I dunno. You just seem like the kind of person who would. Like you could do something. Make a difference, I guess."

I scoffed, putting out my cigarette under my foot. "I'm not a hero, Kon."

"Yeah, well…" He sat down on the steps as a light rain began to fall. "I hope Ichigo will be okay."

"He will."

Kon turned to me in confusion. "How do you know for sure?"

I felt myself smiling ever so slightly as I look up at the raining sky. "Because, Kon. He's not fighting for someone else. He's fighting for himself. Himself, and his pride."

Kon looked surprised and my smile slowly slipped off my face, before I sighed, turning away and starting to walk.

"Come on, Kon…Seems like they're done."

He nodded slowly and got up, following me as we walked over to where I felt Rukia's and Ichigo's aura. When we showed up, Rukia was just sitting there with Ichigo lying unconscious on her lap.

"Don't worry." She said quietly. "A shinigami life force is their amount of spiritual energy. To not die from these wounds, this idiot's strength is quite something. For being able to survive, Ichigo…thank you."

I shook my head with a sigh and headed over, surprising Rukia as I knelt down and placed a gloving hand over Ichigo's stomach.

"W-What are you-"

"As I said, Rukia…There's a lot about me you don't know."

* * *

"It hurts!" Ichigo shouted as he regained consciousness back in his own body.

"Don't make a big fuss!" Rukia scolded him. "Wounds received in your soul state will show up when you return to your body! You ought to know that already!"

"But up 'til now, you returned me to my body after healing all my wounds…"

"Sorry! I used most of my strength to heal your stomach wound, So I couldn't heal other places completely. And Satoshi-" Rukia stopped, remembering what Satoshi had told her before he headed back down the hill.

" _Don't tell Ichigo about me. He doesn't need to know yet and…I'll leave the smaller wounds. He deserves a little pain for worrying people."_

"What about Satoshi?" Ichigo questioned.

Rukia schooled her expression into a blank one. "He said you're an idiot for getting yourself hurt. I told him you fell."

"That little punk!" Ichigo complained, not liking Satoshi to begin with, so his comment only made Ichigo more frustrated with him. "I'll show him! Next time a hollow shows up, I hope it eats him!" He calmed down then, looking at his stomach and growing quiet. "Thanks."

"Well, the pain numbed in battle becomes fresh again when your soul returned to your body. You'll have to put up with the pain." Rukia said, brushing off her dress and heading over to Ichigo, before tossing him some bandages Satoshi had given her. "Here. Stick these on."

Ichigo did as he was told and stared out into the rain. "I…lost, didn't I?"

Rukia gave him a look. "What are you saying? He fled. No one died here. There's no mistaking that you won."

"But he isn't dead. I…" Ichigo stopped and stood up, not facing Rukia as he walked out into the rain.

"Ichigo…"

"Sorry. I'll be a little while."

"Damn. The air's so heavy I can't even get up. But that Satoshi kid was right on the dot, don't you think?" Kon said, sitting up.

Rukia frowned, remembering Satoshi's expression as he looked out into the rain earlier.

" _He'll think it's a loss. He wasn't able to avenge his loved one's death. Doesn't matter to him if he saved other people, because…he blames himself." He looked over at her, eyes empty, hollow almost. "Just give him some time. If he doesn't come to terms with it, then he'll use it to grow stronger…After all…that's just how guys are, right?" He gave her the slightest of smiles, before heading out into the rain with a wave over his shoulder._

"A little _too_ accurate, if you ask me." Rukia muttered, hoping that Ichigo would grow stronger because of this, but also wondering why Satoshi was doing things that she didn't understand.

Ichigo, meanwhile, had gone back to his mother's grave, defeated. "I'm sorry…I…wasn't able to avenge you...Mom…"

He grew quiet then, but then he heard humming coming from nearby and spotted a dark figure leaning up against a tombstone not a few plots down, a cigarette hanging from his lips though it wasn't lit. Ichigo immediately recognized him and scowled.

"Can't you go smoke elsewhere?"

Satoshi lifted his head a bit to face Ichigo, before looking away. "It's not lit."

Ichigo grew even more frustrated. "Like I care! Don't you have something better to do?!"

Satoshi was quiet, but spoke after a moment, speaking just loud enough to be heard over the rain. "My step-father always told me that fighting for revenge was a useless cause. 'Revenge only causes more sadness' he said. 'You take care of your revenge only to make someone else want _their_ revenge. A never ending cycle of hatred and sorrow'."

Ichigo took those words in silently, not liking what Satoshi was saying, but knowing that the words he spoke of were wise and not something to be taken lightly. Both of them slowly drifted back into silence, the only noise being the sound of the rain, but someone else decided to interrupt them.

"Howdy!" Isshin said, having wandered over with an umbrella. "What's this? I was wondering where you'd gone and it turns out you were here…Ichigo, Satoshi." He smiled a little before swinging out another umbrella. "Here, an umbrella!"

"I don't need it." Ichigo grumbled. "I'm soaked like this. It's too late for an umbrella."

Isshin poked him in the head with it.

"Whether I have it or not…"

Isshin poked him a few more times, enough so that Ichigo grew fed up and grabbed the umbrella from him, using it to hit him upside the face, before popping it open and using it the way it should be used. Isshin recovered quickly and pulled another umbrella out of his suit, tossing it to Satoshi, who caught it and used it as well.

"…Thanks…"

Isshin smiled. "Of course!" Isshin then approached his wife's grave and grew solemn. "It sure goes by fast…already ten years since mom died…"

"Six years." Ichigo corrected.

"…So close!"

"That's not close! It's a four year difference! In four years, a primary school student becomes a high school student!" Ichigo shouted.

"You say smart things!"

"Don't be impressed! And at least remember the year your wife died! Geeze man, talking to you pisses me off!"

"Well, if you let her see your lively form like that, mom will rest easy on the other side." Isshin said, but Ichigo paused.

 _Oh yeah…dad doesn't know…mom's soul is already…_

"Now if only I could get Satoshi to show that kind of energy!" Isshin chuckled as Satoshi headed over lazily. "I bet Haruto would be impressed."

"He'd be impressed just for me going to school again. Stupid old man could be impressed by the stupidest things." Satoshi grumbled as he handed Isshin a cigarette, lighting his own and Isshin's as well, surprising Ichigo.

"Didn't you quit smoking? Back when Yuzu and Karin were born?"

Isshin took a long drag. "She complimented me. Around the time we started dating, she said that my hand is cool when I'm smoking a cigarette. Now that I think about it, that was the only time your mom complimented me on my looks." Isshin said, rubbing the back of his neck before leaning close to the tombstone. "So every year, I smoke on this day only. In front of her. Haruto was the one who first got me smoking, though I doubt he'd be happy you're doing it, Satoshi."

Satoshi scoffed, taking a drag and letting it out slowly. "If he didn't want me smoking, he shouldn't have done it."

Isshin smiled a bit, before spotting Ichigo's solemn expression and patting him roughly on the back. "Hey, don't look so sad! Didn't I just tell you to cheer up?!"

Ichigo clenched his fists, umbrella pointing at the ground. "Why…Why are you smiling? Why…won't anyone blame me?! I couldn't do anything…not a thing…not when Mom died…not now either! Why is it?! Nobody blames me! It's so hard! It'd be easier if you guys all blamed me! Why…"

"Why blame you?" Isshin asked, confusing Ichigo.

"Huh?"

"If I were to blame Masaki's death on you, Masaki would get mad at me." Isshin explained. "It's not anyone's fault that Masaki died. It's just that the woman I fell in love with was a woman who could die protecting her son…and don't forget. You are the guy the woman that I loved gave her life to protect."

"Dad…"

"Ah, I hate it! Damn you!" Isshin shouted, ramming a knee into Ichigo's back as the rain started to let up. "Live well, Ichigo. Live well, age well, and go bald well. And die after me. And…if you can, die smiling. If you can't, I won't be able to face Masaki. Don't hesitate to act. Sadness is a cool thing to shoulder, but…you're still too young. That goes for you too, Satoshi."

Satoshi closed his umbrella and glanced over at Isshin as he smiled back over his shoulder.

"Haruto was a great friend of mine and, while I don't know what happened, I bet he did something similar to Masaki and protected you. So don't go letting his sacrifice go to waste. He was all about smiling and spreading happiness, So I expect you to cheer up a bit too. He'd kill me if I let his son grow up a brooding old man." Isshin chuckled with a wave. "I'll be waiting down below."

Satoshi sighed and followed after him, but Ichigo stayed back a moment. After all, he wasn't going to give up so easily. He had to get stronger.


End file.
